Medieval English

In the first volume of this epic new series, Alison Weir strips away centuries of romantic mythology and prejudice to reveal the lives of England's queens in the century after the Norman Conquest. Beginning with Matilda of Flanders, who supported William the Conqueror in 1066, to the turbulent life of the Empress Maud, who claimed to be queen of England in her own right and fought a bitter war to that end, the five Norman queens emerge as hugely influential figures and fascinating characters.

August 1146. Prince Hywel has called all the bards of Wales to him for a music festival to mark the third anniversary of his rule over Ceredigion. He has invited all the lords of Wales too, including his father, his uncle, and his neighbor to the south, King Cadell. But with the highborn also come the low: thieves, spies, and other hangers-on. And when a murderer strikes as the festival starts, Gareth and Gwen are charged with discovering his identity—before the death of a peasant shakes the throne of a king.

It is the winter of 1143 and all is not well in the court of Owain, King of north Wales: his future in-laws are untrustworthy; the Norman lords on his eastern border are restless; and among his wedding guests lurks a cold-blooded killer. Gareth and Gwen have marriage plans of their own, but their love will have to wait while the pair race to separate truth from lies, friends from foes, and unravel the mystery before King Owain--and his new bride--fall victim to their uninvited guest.

Already a classic, this landmark study of early Western thought now appears in a new edition with expanded coverage of the Middle Ages. Author Anthony Gottlieb looks afresh at the writings of the great thinkers, questions much of conventional wisdom, and explains his findings with unbridled brilliance and clarity. From the pre-Socratic philosophers through the celebrated days of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, up to Renaissance visionaries like Erasmus and Bacon, philosophy emerges here as a phenomenon unconfined by any one discipline.

In the small village of Berring, Calder runs the Broken Mug tavern. He was a gifted swordsman and would have been a war hero if only his side had won. His injured leg tells him his days of fighting are over. When a dark portal opens in his village’s main square and orcs stream through it, slaughtering his neighbors and setting everything on fire, it brings with it a second chance. A soldier of light appears and grants Calder a weapon stone so he can help fight against the forces of darkness.

Lizanne Balmaine has spent years honing her skills at arms, determined she will never again be at the mercy of any man. When she comes face to face with the one who stole her future, she seizes the opportunity to exact revenge. Soon he is her prisoner, at her mercy. But something is different about him, something that makes her question her purpose. Is it possible a man can be so changed? More, can she right the wrong that could lay ruin to her family?

John Gaunt was the son of Edward III, brother to the Black Prince, father to Henry IV, and the sire of all those Tudors. He has had pretty bad press: supposed usurper of Richard II’s crown and the focus of hatred in the Peasants’ Revolt, as they torched his home, the Savoy Palace. Helen Carr paints a complex portrait of a man who held the levers of power on the English and European stage, passionately upheld chivalric values, pressed for the Bible to be translated into English, and patronized the arts.

The crow hissed: "Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t cut your throat here and now. One single damn reason." The prince froze with fear and said nothing. At last, his behavior was logical. His facial features had lost any order. Shivering, he closed his eyes in expectation of certain death. But then there was a whispering. "Could there be three reasons maybe?" She suppressed the reflex to laugh—she hadn’t laughed aloud for years and was not sure if the muscles needed were even still functioning.

Join Godfrid the Dane for murder and mayhem in medieval Dublin! Godfrid the Dane makes his first appearance in the Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mysteries in the first book, The Good Knight. He comes to Anglesey at the behest of the treacherous Prince Cadwaladr, but quickly realizes the deal he’s made is not quite what he thought, and Cadwaladr is not worthy of his allegiance. He takes it upon himself to learn the truth about what is going on in Wales and in the process encounters a young Welsh woman, Gwen, and her fiancé, Gareth, who comes to Ireland in search of her.

1231 A.D. After a nasty skirmish along the England/Scotland border at Bog Wood, a badly wounded knight has crawled off to die. As women from the Clan Scott fan out across the battlefield to collect the spoils of war, one woman breaks off from the pack. She is sickened by the tradition of stealing valuables off the dead and runs off to hide. In her hiding place, however, lingers the badly wounded knight. The young woman is frightened at first but her natural instinct to lend aid takes over. She tends the knight and saves his life.

Lucas and Clara search for Queen Tasha's missing emerald. On their exciting adventure, they travel to all the main attractions of Wrenly: Primlox (the island of fairies), Burth (the island of trolls), Crestwood (the island of dragons), Hobsgrove (the island of wizards), and the beautiful Mermaid's Cove. King Caleb has promised to reward the person who finds the precious stone, and Lucas and Clara are determined to search the entire kingdom until they find it!

At its height, the Order of the Knights Templar rivaled the kingdoms of Europe in military might, economic power, and political influence. For 700 years the tragic demise of this society of warrior-monks amid accusations of heresy has been plagued by controversy, in part because the transcript of their trial by the Inquisition - which held the key to the truth - had vanished.Templar historian Barbara Frale happened to be studying a document at the Vatican Secret Archives when she suddenly realized that it was none other than the long-lost transcript!

AD 1192 - Sir Christopher de Lohr is Richard the Lion Heart's champion, a man the Muslims nicknamed "The Lion's Claw". Blond, battle scarred, and powerful, he is what all men fear. After the fall of Acre, Christopher makes a promise at the deathbed of a dying comrade to marry the man's incorrigible but wealthy daughter. Christopher returns home to marry the woman, but the only thing he is interested in is her substantial dowry. He has no use for a wife and resents being forced into the marriage.

Akira finds himself in a new world, the world of a ronin. His quest for vengeance continues to guide him as he meets a new friend—a wandering trader named Genji. Together Akira and Genji take on a bounty to bring a criminal to justice while Genji explores Akira’s past.

In 1349, one small town in Germany disappeared and was never resettled. Tom, a contemporary historian, and his theoretical-physicist girlfriend, Sharon, become interested. By all logic, the town should have survived, but it didn't. Why? What was special about Eifelheim that it utterly disappeared more than 600 years ago?

Enormous, with a Scots father and a Greek mother, Tay Munro is the stuff gods are made of. He is also the meanest, biggest, nastiest trainer of men at Blackchurch. Most importantly, he is a firm believer that women should not be warriors and he does his best to wash out the female he is assigned to train. Enter Athdara de Ghent. Beautiful and mysterious, Tay is attracted to her from the start but that does not stop his attempts to break her. When he realizes how strong she is, he becomes intrigued.

England, 1333. The chink in Baron Boursier's armor is his fondness for a lovely face. When it costs him half his sight and brands him as one who abuses women, he vows to never again be "blinded" by beauty. Thus, given the choice between forfeiting his lands and wedding one of his enemies to end their feud, he chooses as his betrothed the lady said to be plain of face, rejecting the lady rumored to be most fair.

The millennium between the breakup of the western Roman Empire and the Reformation was a long and hugely transformative period - one not easily chronicled within a single book. Yet distinguished historian Chris Wickham has taken up the challenge in this landmark book, and he succeeds in producing the most riveting account of medieval Europe in a generation.

England, 1065: The Saxon kingdom is under threat of invasion at both ends. From the north comes Harald Hardrada of Norway intent on pillage, while across the Channel, Duke William of Normandy is about to enforce his claim to the throne. Between the two lie the villages and townships defended only by part-time armies maintained by the Earls of Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria, barely united under King Harold Godwineson. It falls to brave and determined young men like Will Riveracre and Selwyn Astenmede to stand firm against whichever marauding invader reaches them first.

In the fair autumn of Our Lord's grace 1431, the nuns of England's St. Frideswide's prepare for the simply ceremonies in which the saintly novice Thomasine will take her holy vows. But their quiet lives of beauty and prayer are thrown into chaos by the merciless arrival of Lady Ermentrude Fenner and her retinue of lusty men, sinful women, and baying hounds. The hard-drinking dowager even keeps a pet monkey for her amusement. She demands wine, a feast.... And her niece, the angelic Thomasine.